This is a new, web-post-only feature of my Substack journey … just for our community of writers … looking back at the month to see what went well and not so well, and more importantly, what I want to do more of in the coming month.
Crucial Numbers
Using my previous mindset as an accountant, I’ve been looking at the statistics Substack so kindly provides us to see what info can be gleaned from them. (Note to Substack: I would love to help you develop a truly useful monthly report for authors.)
While the number of subscribers and followers is interesting, for me, the engagement numbers are the most telling … Likes, Comments, and Restacks. My writing life is so much better here on Substack than the years of crickets on my blog.
Open Rate: One number I pay close attention to is my open rate, which fluctuates around the 40% range, and is impacted by the quality of titles and opening images used, as well probably a slew of other factors. To refresh my thinking on this, I reviewed several articles and these seem to be the main issues I have control of:
subjects, titles, styles, and approaches boring to my readers
lack of personalization to receiver (a significant hurdle with Substack’s system), and being a recognized sender (brand)
time, date, frequency of delivery
email overload in general
What Posts look like on the app .
This is a random page on the Substack app. I don’t use the app so I had to remind myself what it looks like to a reader … title, subtitle, and tiny thumbnail image. What could we do to put our (tiny) best foot forward?
What’s the number I really need?
Wouldn’t it be lovely if paid subscribers came flooding in? Possibly. However, the chance of that is similar to me becoming an NFL first draft choice. Plus …
Neither fame nor money are going to scratch the itch that brought me here.
What I really need is some guidance on how well I’m doing at “writing for myself.” Am I becoming wiser about myself and/or the world? Are my posts pulling me into the creative flow where I try new things and feel time stop? Am I lighting a candle for the world?
<Pause>
What if I used those three questions as guidelines? Would they help me evaluate my progress for the month? Boiled down, they could each be scored with a 0 - 10:
A. Wiser me … posts that made me dig a little and wound up with an aha, whether small or large.
B. Flow … posts where I risked trying something new, swimming up stream, stepping into the unknown.
C. Candle … posts that share possibly helpful insights gathered on my journey.
So, let’s give it a try. … … … …
Result: 10 posts in June, with an average self-assessment score of 24.
What I liked about June:
images made starting with AI and adding other features
including the Substack logo. Plus the new Wild Beauty banner (no AI).
tried something new … including a voice recording of one of my poems
decided to open the Curated Daily Inspiration flipbooks to all subscribers and Notes at the end of each month
started new series on Messy Organizational Tools
What I would like to do better:
make the Generosity Corner be a better advocate for
special humanitarian projects
engage readers more on their self-reflection journeys
develop my self-score for a post BEFORE it posts
What I would like to do more of:
experiment with a progressive learning series — something
I want to learn and others might want to learn also
more multi-media posts … words, images, sound … ?
create more images
If you answered yes, could you tell us more about it?